Chapter ExCom Endorses Candidates for Sierra Club Board of Directors

Current Situation

Due to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic situation, we are sensitive to our constituents during this challenging crisis…

Sierra Club COVID Operations Update

Sierra Club National’s current COVID safety guidance extends through May 31, 2022. The plan allows for limited in-person gatherings. Groups may hold events such as ExComm meetings and tabling with the approval of the Chapter chair. Certain larger gatherings may occur with approval by Sierra Club safety staff.

Read more about reopening guidelines here. 

Sierra Club COVID Info Hub (requires Campfire login).

Virtual meetings and events:
Online (via Zoom) Tennessee Chapter ExCom Business meetings
Online (via Zoom) Harvey Broome Group ExCom meetings
Online (via Zoom) Harvey Broome Group Program Meetings - note online program meeting info below
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April 2022 Virtual Program

What: Hidden Rivers documentary, hosted by Patrick Rakes, Conservation Fisheries

When: Tuesday, April 12, 2022, 7:00-8:30 PM ET

Where: Virtual via Zoom. Please RSVP through this Campfire Event Link. You will receive information on how to connect to this program and be notified via email if there are any changes.



Pat Rakes (right) and Andrea Leslie at Abrams Creek. Photo credit USFWS/Southeast CC PDM 1.0.

Join us for a special screening of the amazing documentary film Hidden Rivers. Ten years in the making, Hidden Rivers is Freshwaters Illustrated’s feature film that explores the rivers and streams of the Southern Appalachian region, North America’s most biologically rich waters. The film follows the work of conservation biologists and explorers throughout the region, and reveals both the beauty and vulnerability of these ecosystems.

This program will be hosted by Patrick Rakes, Co-Director of Conservation Fisheries Inc. Pat and the work of Conservation Fisheries are featured prominently in Hidden Rivers. Conservation Fisheries is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1986 and incorporated in 1992, CFI is dedicated to the preservation of aquatic biodiversity in our streams and rivers. Over nearly 30 years, they have developed techniques to propagate more than 65 nongame fish, including some of the most imperiled species in the southeastern United States. Their primary goal is to restore fish populations that have been eliminated because of pollution or habitat destruction. They also produce many rare or difficult-to-collect species for other purposes related to aquatic conservation.

Find out more about Hidden Rivers (https://www.freshwatersillustrated.org/hidden-rivers) and watch the film trailer from Freshwaters Illustrated on Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/325406113)
 

Please RSVP at the following link and you will receive information on how to link to this virtual presentation:

Note: Consult the HBG website Calendar for updates to our calendar. Questions regarding HBG events should be addressed to HBG Chair Jerry Thornton (gatwilcat@aol.com).

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HBG and Local Issues & Business

HBG PARTICIPATES IN CONSERVATION EDUCATION DAY (CED) AND CONTINUED LOBBYING!
 
On March 2, 2022, four leaders from HBG went to Nashville to lobby our legislators on environmental issues in pending legislation. They joined advocates from the Harpeth River Conservancy, Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning, Tennessee Interfaith Power and Light, the Middle Tennessee and Cherokee Groups of the Sierra Club, CareNet, Chapter Chair Cris Corley and others to speak to their own senators and representatives and other representatives in key positions to influence various bills before the legislature. The CED lobbyists focused on six bills in three categories.
 
First, SB 2186 by Senator Campbell (HB 2256 by Rep. Harris) would ban certain uses of neonicotinoid pesticides to reduce the threat to honeybees and other pollinators caused by “neonics.”  Although most of the lobbied legislators listened respectfully to our plea, this bill did not advance in committee.
 
The second group of bills all dealt with local authority to regulate things harmful to the environment. We lobbied for two bills and against two others. We favored SB 1840/HB 1675, which would authorize a county to impose an impact fee on residential development. We wanted this to be state-wide, not just for one county, as some had proposed. This bill died in a House committee. We also favored HB 1842/SB 2121, which would give local governments control over major modifications or expansions of local landfills. The landfill companies don’t want any control over what they do. SB 2121 has passed out of the Senate, but HB 1842 is still pending.
We lobbied against HB 2328/SB 1953, which would exempt from local regulations all quarries and mines that agreed to become landfills. This bill died in committee, which is a nice victory!
 
We also lobbied against HB1651/SB 1760, which would have allowed billboard companies to convert static billboards to digital billboards with no say by local governments. This bill met quick condemnation by most of the legislators we talked to and the bill was killed in committee. No one likes giant, flashing billboards in their backyards or along their highways!
 
The third category was a bill to address the plastic litter problem across the state. SB 2067/HB2817 would establish an Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging program to reduce the tsunami of trash across the state and impose fees on producers based on the quantity, recyclability, and toxicity of the packaging materials they use. Of course, most businesses opposed this bill and it died in committee, but we hope we have planted a seed that will grow next year, when we also expect renewed efforts to pass a “CLEAN Bill” that will address recycling of plastics and metals.
 
Of course, a single day of lobbying is not enough to stop bad bills or to promote good ones. Our HBG political team and TN Chapter lobbyist Scott Banbury have continued to work after March 2nd to try to stop bad legislation and promote good bills. Most recently a seemingly benign study bill (HB 2246/SB 2077) was radically amended to prohibit local governments from having any say over energy infrastructure projects, such as oil and gas pipelines and power lines. Our coalition of environmental advocates has jumped into action to stop this terrible bill from advancing. At press time, it had passed in the state Senate, but was stalled in the House Commerce Committee. Our political team will testify against the bill on March 29th and hope to kill it that day.
 
Congratulations and thanks to Kent Minault and the HBG and Chapter Political Teams for their extensive efforts to keep the legislature from further harming the environment and removing the ability of local people to influence environmental health, safety and justice.


Video: SB2077/HB2246 (Fossil Fuel Infrastructure Local Preemption Bill) Lobbying in Nashville

HBG’s Kent Minault and allies from across Tennessee traveled to the state capitol on March 22 to speak against this bill, which would exclude local governments and communities from decisions about fossil fuel infrastructure siting. Read more about the bill in our Environmental Newsflash below. The speaker in the video is Justin J. Pearson, a leader in the successful fight against the Byhalia Pipeline in Memphis. Pearson thanks our Chapter's lobbyist Scott Banbury for spotting the bill's under-the-radar amendment stripping fossil siting control from trusted local elected officials and handing it over to utilities and out-of-state oil, gas, and coal companies.
 
Link to Facebook video


Justin Pearson and friends celebrate delaying the Fossil Fuel Infrastructure Preemption Bill, March 22, 2022. Screen capture from video by Memphis Community Against the Pipeline.

KUB posts intentions with respect to disconnections for non-payment.

They also include their suggestions for “assistance” for those in need, and how those of us in better circumstances can assist those in need via “Project Help."
 
For utility companies in other counties and municipalities in Tennessee, e.g., Alcoa, LaFollete, Lenoir City, Maryville, Clinton, and more, links to pandemic response policies can be found here.


Federally Funded Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

This federal program provides federally funded assistance in managing costs associated with: home energy bills, energy crises, weatherization and energy-related minor home repairs.


Read about other local events in Tennessee in our Chapter e-newsletters.

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Events and Actions

TN State House Commerce Committee Meeting
Tuesday, March 29, 9 AM CT
North Cordell Hull, 425 Rep. John Lewis Way N, Nashville, TN 37243
 
At this meeting, the Committee will discuss SB2077/HB2246, the local fossil fuel siting preemption bill.
 
Other ways to stop the bill:
 
Sierra Club action alert

Protect Our Aquifer action alert


Implementing a Just and Equitable Energy Transition: Non-Profit Perspectives
Tuesday, March 29, 12 PM - 2 PM ET
Virtual
Hosted by NASEM Energy and Environmental Systems

“As the United States embarks on a path towards net-zero carbon emissions, it is critical to ensure that new decarbonization policies promote a fair and equitable transition. The 2021 National Academies' report Accelerating Decarbonization of the U.S. Energy System outlines critical near-term policies needed for the decarbonization effort with a focus on ways to support communities that will be most impacted.

“As part of input gathering for the study's next report, the committee invites you to join them for a series of discussions on ways to support and accelerate a just energy transition, featuring speakers from government and non-profit sectors.

“Tune in to hear from experts from the non-profit sector including Jamal Lewis from Rewiring America and Jeremy Richardson from RMI as they share their perspectives on the energy transition and how to make the transition just and equitable.”

Register here.
 

The Nature of Cities Festival
Tuesday, March 29 - Thursday, March 31
Virtual
 
“TNOC Festival pushes boundaries to radically imagine our cities for the future. A virtual festival that spans 3 full days with programming across all regional time zones and is provided in multiple languages. A core philosophy of the festival is to foster inclusivity and lower barriers to participation. The festival focuses on facilitating transdisciplinary dialogue, small group workshops, arts engagement, and fostering a collaborative spirit around solutions for how to build cities that are better for nature and all people.”
 
Register here.
 
 
HBG Outing: Hike on Oak Ridge’s North Boundary Greenway
Saturday, April 2
9:00 AM
 
The Sierra Club Harvey Broome Group, Advocates for the Oak Ridge Reservation and Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning will cosponsor a hike to explore parts of Oak Ridge's North Boundary Greenway, the Horizon Center natural area, and Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement. We will meet at 9 AM at one of the eastern trailheads for the North Boundary Greenway (coordinates are 35.976887°, -84.337905°). The parking area is about  0.1 mile southwest of the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike. The trip will be an easy to moderate out and back walk depending on how long folks want to walk. We will enjoy the beauty of the greenway and also explore and talk about the proposed powerline that will directly affect parts of the Horizon Center natural area and indirectly affect parts of the Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement. Maximum roundtrip distance from the trailhead to the mouth of East Fork Poplar Creek is about 7.3 miles, mostly on gravel roads.
Bring: Participants are urged to wear sturdy shoes, carry plenty of water and snacks/lunch, and dress for the weather.
 
Register here.
 


Tennessee Earth Tour begins in the East
 
The Tennessee Earth Tour is coming to Johnson City, Knoxville and Athens on April 16, 17 and 18. Hosted by chapters of Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL), Appalachia Regional Coordinator, Jon Clark, and volunteer Tennessee’s State Co-Coordinators, Don Kraus and Jan Berry will meet with climate advocates as they travel across the state on the leadup to Earth Day 2022 in Memphis.

According to Clark, “Tennesseans who care about a livable world are a vital part of any effort to pass national climate policies to reduce carbon pollution. Appalachia is a conservative part of our nation, so the solutions we promote must be acceptable across the political spectrum. We’re here to talk about solutions that will work and empower the people who can build needed relationships with lawmakers to make them a reality.”

Attendees will learn, have fun and leave with a new understanding of advocating effectively for national climate policies in Tennessee. Members of the public and media are welcome to attend.  All events are free.

awareness about the effects of climate change by creating art that represents how they feel climate change will affect their future. During our event we will create art, music and poetry to express how we feel.

In addition to hosting events like these, CCL chapters regularly communicate about climate solutions with Representatives Chuck Fleishman, Tim Burchett, and Diana Harshbarger, and Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty.

“Here in Tennessee, we’re already feeling the impact of climate change”, said Kraus. “The Tennessee Earth Tour’s goal is to grow CCL’s statewide network of citizen climate advocates to build political will for solutions that match the climate challenges we all face. National climate solutions must have Congressional support. We’re here to create the space needed for them to do so.”

 
Climate Change Student Art Contest
Deadline April 7
Hosted by Citizens Climate Lobby

SEEED’s Green Gala
Friday, April 8, 7:00-10:00 PM ET
Jubilee Banquet Center, 6700 Jubilee Center Way, Knoxville, 37912


Poster by Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development

The annual Green Gala by Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development (SEEED) raises funds to provide pathways out of poverty for young adults through career readiness training.
Hallerin Hilton Hill will host the gala, which will include live music by Lynnez & The Good Fellas and DJ Von, a silent auction, dinner and a photo shoot. The young adults also will be honored.

Tickets are $65 Buy tickets here.

Attire: Dressy, black tie optional, cocktail.


Great Smokies Eco-Adventure
Sunday, April 10 - Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smokies Eco-Adventure 2021 participants. Image by Will Kuhn (edited).

Experience the Smokies like never before! Spend your days exploring the wilds of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and your nights glamorously camping off the grid. Discover Life in America is partnering with A Walk in the Woods to bring you this exclusive 3-day, 2-night adventure that will include guided hikes and nature walks, camping in a luxurious off-grid setting, great local food and drink, and much more. All proceeds from this fundraising event will help DLiA discover and conserve the rich biodiversity of the Smokies.

Tickets are $950 per guest. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.dlia.org/event/eco-adventure-2022  

Discover Life in America is a nonprofit organization based in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Our flagship project is the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, a joint effort with the park to identify and catalog each of the 60,000+ species living here! We work with park staff, researchers, and volunteers to study biodiversity in the Smokies, to educate others about its importance in our lives, and ultimately to conserve the richness of life on Earth.

Environmental Newsflash

*** Note to readers about accessing these articles

Bill to override local control of pipelines spurs statewide backlash. Dulche Torres Guzman, Tennessee Lookout, March 21.

Tennessee State Capitol. Photo by Rob Shenk CC BY-SA 2.0.

“On March 2, a seemingly innocuous bill in the Tennessee General Assembly proposed a study on energy infrastructure,  but an amendment to remove local government’s ability to regulate fossil fuel infrastructure threw up red flags with legislators, local government officials and environmental groups.

“ ‘I don’t think that they’re going to care more than our county mayors, I don’t think they’re going to care more than our county commissioners,’ [Justin Pearson] said. ‘We should not have to sacrifice our independence and our personal freedoms for out-of-state oil companies’ ability to trample over local communities.’

“Several others also spoke out against the bill, including George Nolan from the Southern Environmental Law Center, Sarah Houston from Protect Our Aquifer and Scott Banbury from the Tennessee chapter of the Sierra Club, all arguing that there is already little state oversight to protect ground water and drinking water.”

          TAKE ACTION – Contact Tennessee state legislators to stop this bill: 
 
          Related: House Sponsor Holds Meeting to Hear Opponents of Bill That Preempts Local Governments from Prohibiting Energy Infrastructure, Legislation Advances in Tennessee Senate. Laura Baigert, The Tennessee Star, March 19.


Biden’s chance to tackle climate change is fading amid global energy upheaval: High fuel prices have led to calls for a supercharged clean energy transition, but Democrats still lack a legislative strategy to advance their climate agenda. Anna Phillips and Tony Romm, The Washington Post, March 18.

“As the war in Ukraine has raised oil prices and launched Western leaders on a global hunt for new sources of energy, environmentalists have tried to leverage the chaos in energy markets to move the United States off fossil fuels.

“But there’s a problem: Despite major advancements in wind and solar power — and renewed investor enthusiasm — Democrats, who narrowly control Congress, have yet to devise a legislative strategy that could accelerate this shift. And without major climate legislation soon, President Biden is likely to lose his opportunity to transform the nation’s energy mix during his first term.

“Experts say that for the United States to supercharge renewable power, lawmakers have to lower the upfront costs of building wind turbines, solar arrays and energy battery storage through federal tax breaks and other incentives. But congressional Democrats are struggling to revive the climate provisions of their roughly $2 trillion package formerly known as the Build Back Better Act, as their focus has shifted in recent days to bills that narrowly aim to respond to the rising cost of gasoline and diesel fuel.”


EIA Reference Case: Renewable Generation Will Supply 44% Of U.S. Electricity By 2050. U.S. Energy Information Administration, CleanTechnica website, March 18.

Officials dedicate Oak Ridge Construction Support Building. Photo by NashvilleCorps CC BY-ND 2.0.

“In our Annual Energy Outlook 2022 (AEO2022) Reference case (https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/), which reflects current laws and regulations, we project that the share of U.S. power generation from renewables will increase from 21% in 2021 to 44% in 2050. This increase in renewable energy mainly consists of new wind and solar power.”

Note: the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) should not be confused with the International Energy Agency (IEA).


It’s 70 degrees warmer than normal in eastern Antarctica. Scientists are flabbergasted. ‘This event is completely unprecedented and upended our expectations about the Antarctic climate system,’ one expert said. Jason Samenow and Kasha Patel, The Washington Post, March 18.

“The average high temperature in Vostok — at the center of the eastern ice sheet — is around minus-63 (minus-53 Celsius) in March. But on Friday, the temperature leaped to zero (minus-17.7 Celsius), the warmest it’s been there during March since record keeping began 65 years ago. It broke the previous monthly record by a staggering 27 degrees (15 Celsius).”


In a World on Fire, Stop Burning Things: The truth is new and counterintuitive: we have the technology necessary to rapidly ditch fossil fuels. Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, March 18.

“Mostly, our job as a species is clear: stop smoking.

“As of 2022, this task is both possible and affordable. We have the technology necessary to move fast, and deploying it will save us money. Those are the first key ideas to internalize. They are new and counterintuitive, but a few people have been working to realize them for years, and their stories make clear the power of this moment.”

 
Largest Federal Utility Chooses Gas, Undermining Biden’s Climate Goals:
President Biden wants electricity generated from wind, solar and other clean sources. The Tennessee Valley Authority plans to invest in fossil fuels instead. Lisa Freidman, The New York Times, March 17.

Cleaning Up the Coal Ash at TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant. Photo by Appalachian Voices CC BY 2.0.

“The Tennessee Valley Authority, which provides electricity to nearly 10 million people across the Southeast, is replacing aging power plants that run on coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel. But critics say substituting gas for coal would lock in decades of additional carbon dioxide emissions that are heating the planet and could be avoided by generating more electricity from solar, wind or another renewable source.

“Although the average cost of generating electricity from wind and solar sources is now lower than from fossil fuels in the U.S., the T.V.A. said that it would be more expensive to tap solar energy for its needs. …

“It also sends a terrible message,’ said Leah C. Stokes … ‘The president has very bold goals to decarbonize the power sector by 2035, and here we have a big federal authority really thumbing their nose at that goal. …

“The T.V.A.’s goal is to reduce emissions 80 percent by 2035, the time by which President Biden wants the entire country’s electricity generation to be free of fossil fuel pollution.”

Friedman closes with a quote from Amanda Garcia of the Southern Environmental Law Center.



     Related: This Federally Owned Public Utility Company Is Run by a Former Fossil Fuel Executive Who Makes $10 Million: The Tennessee Valley Authority could be leading the country toward renewables. Instead, it gets huge chunks of its power generation from coal and methane. Dorothy Slater, The New Republic, March 16.

 
The World Has One Big Chance to Fix Plastics: For a global plastics treaty to succeed, it will need to tamp down production—and recognize the lives and livelihoods that depend on plastic still. Rebecca Altman and Tridibesh Dey, The Atlantic, March 15.

"Early this month, … the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) passed a resolution mandating the creation of a multilateral treaty to address plastic pollution. The [legally binding] treaty could be plastics’ symbolic equivalent of the Paris Agreement on climate change, and in its provisions, likely even more far-reaching. The meeting ended in an ebullient wave of joy and tired-teary relief. This treaty could govern not just micro- and nanoplastic pollution, but also the air pollutants, greenhouse-gas emissions, and toxic chemicals associated with plastics.”

But how much of the UNEA’s lofty resolution will survive in the actual treaty?


Fed nominee Sarah Bloom Raskin withdraws after fight over her climate change stance. Scott Horsley, All Things Considered (NPR), March 15.

“Her fate was sealed on Monday, when Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he would oppose her, calling Raskin insufficiently committed to an ‘all-of-the-above energy policy.’ "


These Climate Scientists Are Fed Up and Ready to Go on Strike: Evidence on global warming is piling up. Nations aren’t acting. Some researchers are asking what difference more reports will make. Raymond Zhong, The New York Times, March 1.

“ ‘We're suggesting a moratorium on the science that simply documents the decline of human well-being and planetary health,’ [Dr. Bruce C. Glavovic of New Zealand’s Massey University] said. ‘That science is not contributing to solutions.’ …

“As the oceans rise, forests burn and carbon dioxide levels continue their upward march, even scientists who do not want to go on strike wonder how much longer they can keep serving as  soft-spoken brokers of data and evidence.”


‘This is akin to a hostile takeover’: State officials ask residents of a small, predominantly Black town near the site of new Ford investment to forfeit their city charter or face takeover. Anita Wadhwani, The Tennessee Lookout, March 14.

“ ‘This is our home. We were born and raised here. . . (Mumpower) is trying to conquer and divide us. It's akin to a hostile takeover and it's not hard to figure out why here, why now.’ – Virginia Rivers, vice-mayor of Mason, Tenn.”


Rebuild or leave? In a flood-prone Tennessee town, one family must decide. Damon Mitchell, WPLN, March 14.

Homes flooded in Minot, ND. Photo by USACE HQ CC PDM 1.0.

“The Turners [of Waverly, Tennessee] were one of thousands of families displaced in 2021 by extreme weather events across the country, from wildfire to hurricanes to floods. Nearly two dozen climate-driven extreme weather events hammered the United States. The disasters killed hundreds of people and did more than $145 billion in damage.”

The Planet Is Undergoing an Ecological Transformation, Imperiling Biodiversity Everywhere: In a decade, 9 percent of all species worldwide could be at risk of total extinction, according to a new UN report on climate change. Lauren Leffer, Audubon magazine, March 4.
 
“Clocking in at nearly 3,700 pages, [the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II Sixth Assessment Report] (https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/) methodically lays out evidence that biodiversity loss from climate change is already worse than predicted. It also underscores that human well-being and survival are inextricably linked with the fate of ecosystems, spurring action to conserve wildlife and habitats. Adequately addressing climate change requires an immediate global effort to prevent the worst consequences, it says. ‘Any further delay in concerted anticipatory global action on adaptation and mitigation will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all,’ reads the final line of the report summary.
 
The report is the latest in a string of increasingly urgent and dire reports from the U.N. climate group. Compared to previous IPCC publications, this one is ‘less optimistic, more specific, and more certain,’ says ornithologist Morgan Tingley, a conservation biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who was not an author on the new report. ‘It provides a much greater resolution of specificity to communities or nations than we’ve seen in the past.’ ”
 

Read about other events in Tennessee in our Chapter e-newsletters.

*** A democracy with informed citizens requires the professionalism that we have historically expected of credible news sources. Most “local" newspapers today are asking folks who access their online news stories to purchase a subscription to their paper. This is understandable generally, and reminds us that we should do our part to pay for the resources that result in publication of local news. Those of us who use summaries of published print news, as we do, are no exception, and we ask the same of our readers. However, we also believe that a person who only wants to see an occasional article published in a newspaper should not be required to subscribe. So if you believe that you are in the latter category - only an occasional reader - you may be able to read an article without a subscription if you "browse anonymously" or clear your browser cache before activating a link to an article. This may help you avoid many "pay walls" at these news sources (some sources restrict access even with anonymous settings). Another approach is to search for alternate source on the particular news item. But we recommend that our readers who find themselves accessing an online news source on a regular basis subscribe to an online version of the paper, which is generally much cheaper than a  print version.

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Can't donate now? Sign up for Kroger Community Rewards. Kroger donates a portion of what you spend to the Harvey Broome Group as long as you designate HBG as your preferred charity.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Kroger Community Rewards web page
2. Register (or Sign In if you already have an account.)
3. Enroll in Community Rewards (or Edit if you're already enrolled.)
4. Enter HBG's Community Rewards Number 27874.

That's it. Swipe your Kroger Card when you shop and know that you're helping protect your environment.

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